


heaven help the fool who falls in love

by glasseslouis



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bisexual Dan, Drunk Kissing Trope (tm), F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, High School, Lack of Communication, M/M, Mutual Pining, Party, Pining, Prom, Promposals, There's a cute shopping scene, alcohol use, friendship fluff, gay phil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-09
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-08-07 15:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7719460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glasseslouis/pseuds/glasseslouis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>dan is positive that prom is stupid.</p>
<p>until phil agrees to be his friend-date, of course.</p>
<p>the high school prom AU that nobody asked me for featuring pizza puns, drunk decisions, and fox shirts</p>
            </blockquote>





	heaven help the fool who falls in love

**Author's Note:**

> wow ok hi
> 
> this is actually one of my favorite fics i've written, so i hope you enjoy!!
> 
> shoutout to the it stops the bees groupchat for allowing me to scream
> 
> title is from ophelia by the lumineers!!

“How’d they even manage to get a pizza delivered to the school anyway?” Dan’s eyes narrowed as he watched the scene from across the courtyard.

Some senior was on his knee, presenting an open pizza box like an engagement ring while his friend held a sign next to him that read, “Would you go to prom with me, or is this too cheesy?” A blushing girl was turning back and forth between the scene and her friends, who were conveniently Snapchatting the whole incident. 

“This is literally the stupidest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Distract me now or I’ll probably start bleeding from my eyes.”

“Feeling a little bitter for a Friday afternoon, Dan?” PJ said, eyebrows raised, just as Phil slid into the seat next to him.

“Bitter about what, Dan?”

“I’m not bitter,” Dan insisted. “I just think prom is overrated. Firstly, it’s not that different from winter formal. You just freeze a little bit less during prom, since it’s in the spring. Besides that, it’s just a money trap. Capitalism at its finest. You know, I read an article yesterday that the average girl spends seven hundred pounds on her prom night. Seven hundred! It’s asinine – utterly ridiculous! It’s-”

“So, you’re not going to prom?” Louise cut in, putting down her fork. “Because Phil said you were, and we already put your name into the pot of people splitting the cost of the limo Hazel rented. Prom’s like, two weeks away, so if you’re not going…”

“No, I- I am,” Dan screwed his eyes shut. “I’m just not going to enjoy it, okay? I’m only going because societal bonds – and my mother – have insisted that I’ll regret it if I don’t. And thanks for telling me, Phil, that I have to contribute money for a limo.”

Phil shrugged, mouth full of chips. 

“So, who’s your date going to be?” Sophie said, stealing one of PJ’s pretzels and nibbling on it. “Do we know them?”

“I- I don’t know yet,” Dan said, cheeks going a splotchy scarlet. “Nobody’s asked me. And I haven’t asked anyone. So.”

“You better get on that!” Hazel exclaimed, wiping salad dressing from the corners of her mouth. “Two weeks, Dan. That’s all you’ve got. Most of the good ones are already taken.” 

“Oh, don’t act like you lot already all have dates,” Dan shot back, expecting to be met with silence. However, God wanted to teach him a lesson or something, because one by one, everyone sat at the table piped up with a name of whom they were going with.

“Nobody’s asked me,” Phil said. “If that makes you feel any better.”

It kind of did, actually, but not in the sympathetic, “we’re in the same boat” way that Phil had intended it to be. Something deeper in Dan’s chest, something rooted more fiercely that he’d never admit to, made him happy that no one had asked Phil, that he was still available.

That probably didn’t make him a very good best friend. 

Dan opened his mouth to retort, but the bell signaling the end of lunch cut him off before he could think of anything smart to say. Their little group stood with their trays and all parted onto different paths, but Phil fell into step with Dan.

“Do you want to come over after school?” Phil said, dumping his trash in the bin and fiddling with his backpack strap. “We can tell my mum we’re doing chemistry homework and play Portal on Martyn’s computer. He works late tonight.” 

“Yeah, okay,” Dan said. He had to tilt his chin up to look at Phil. When did he get so tall, and when would it be Dan’s turn to grow like that? “But I probably should actually work on the chemistry homework too.”

“That’s fine,” Phil said. They both knew full well that Dan would intend to do the homework, but it would end up with him rolling around on Phil’s bed talking about how homework was stupid because the universe was infinite and their lives were meaningless. Phil would be doing the homework. 

They reached the split in the hallway where they always parted ways, but before Dan could slide into his psychology class, Phil caught him by the wrist. “Dan, wait.” Dan turned, and Phil looked suddenly nervous. “I, uh- don’t worry, you know? About the prom stuff, and everything that Hazel and Louise and them were saying? It’s- it’s okay. It’ll all work out.”

Dan felt his ears go hot, though he couldn’t quite explain why. It was only Phil, doing what Phil does best, which is bumble through advice and words that actually do help in the long run. Dan had been on the receiving end of it a thousand times. So why did this feel any different?

“Er- thanks,” Dan said, slipping his arm out of Phil’s grip. “I’ll meet you at your locker after school, okay?”

Phil nodded, and Dan watched him turn and walk into his literature class, clutching whatever boring classical novel Dan would inevitably hear about that evening. He turned in the direction of his own class and nearly knocked over one of the drama geeks serenading her girlfriend with a medley of Tony Award winning Broadway musical soundtracks, complete with a sign that read, “This is not an ACT… I want to go to prom with you.”

Stupid. Prom was stupid.

\---

The idea came to Dan that evening, when they were sprawled out on Phil’s bed. Dan was on his laptop and Phil was reading a book; the TV was droning in the background. The homework had been long forgotten, and they’d given up on Portal after a few solid hours of playing. Phil’s mum had made chicken for dinner, and Dan was still picking at his when he was hit out of nowhere with the idea.

“Hey, Phil?” He said, sticking his thumb in his mouth to suck off any mashed potato that had gotten on it. “You said you don’t have a prom date still, right?” 

“I would have told you if I did,” Phil said, glancing up from _Brave New World_ and over the tops of his glasses to look at Dan. “Are you still on about this? I’m telling you, it’s not a big deal. We’ll be with friends. It doesn’t matter if they have dates, since half of their dates are our friends too.”

“Listen to me,” Dan said. “What if- if no one asks us, what if we went together? As friends, obviously, but I’m saying, like, we make a pact.” Phil put his book down, and Dan saw his face change into something almost unrecognizable. “Like, we promise not to ask anyone, and if anyone asks us, we hold off on saying yes until the other one finds a date. So we’re not stranded at prom alone.” 

If Dan blinked, he would have missed it, but he swore that for a microsecond, Phil’s face flashed with disappointment. That couldn’t be, though, because he was quickly nodding. “That’s a good idea. Uh- yeah. Let’s do it. Why not?”

Dan nodded, and Phil smiled briefly before turning back to his book. Dan went back to his laptop, but he couldn’t help but feel proud of himself. Four years ago, when Dan first met Phil, trying to ask him to a school dance probably would have made him puke, pass out, or both.

He’d had a humongous crush on Phil from the moment he’d met him, which definitely threw him for a loop on the rollercoaster that was his sexuality, but a lot of Internet research combined with shameful jerking off cleared that up. Time was the only thing that lessened the overwhelming weight of his crush on Phil, who seemed consistently oblivious. Dan knew that he definitely couldn’t have pulled off what he’d just done had he still felt so strongly for Phil.

He was improving.

The room fell quiet for a few minutes before Phil’s phone buzzed on the nightstand.

“It’s Hazel,” he announced. “Dean’s having a party next weekend. We’re invited, I guess.”

“How’d we pull that off?” Dan grinned. “We never get invited to parties.”

“It probably helps that Hazel’s been…” Phil made a rude gesture with his hand and tongue poking into his cheek that made Dan giggle and shiver at the same time, “with Jack ever since they agreed to go to prom together. Or maybe that came before the prom thing. I dunno, either way, Jack like, loves her. He probably asked Dean to invite her, and Hazel asked to invite the rest of us.”

“God bless Hazel and her dick sucking abilities,” Dan said, trying to will the blush away on his cheeks. “You wanna go?”

“Yeah, you?” Phil said, waiting for Dan to nod before typing a confirmation text back to Hazel. 

“Between this and prom, people might actually mistake us for being social,” Dan said, flopping backwards onto the bed and reaching for Phil’s blanket. “Better sleep this weekend away to prepare.”

“I’ll text your mum and let her know you’re staying here,” Phil said, fake-exasperation in his voice. “Night, Dan.”

“Night, Phil,” Dan said cheerily, snuggling into Phil’s pillow like he owned the place, “don’t miss me too much while I’m gone.” 

“I’ll try.”                          

\---

The week that followed was hectic to say the least; senior exams were coming up just after prom, and it was like every teacher had just remembered that they had about three months of material to teach in a matter of a few weeks. Dan was fairly certain that if you piled up all the homework, quizzes, tests, presentations, group projects, and research papers that he had to do, he’d physically drown in them.

It was a relief to get to the weekend; Dan shuffled some papers into his chemistry notebook, not minding how they stuck out messily on the sides. He and Phil were going to the mall after school to get suits for prom, and Dean’s party was that night. It was going to be a good weekend.

He turned to leave, but he nearly tripped over Claire, his lab partner who was just standing there, clutching her books to her chest. She was a nice girl, albeit a little spacey. The only thing Dan ever talked to her about was how she was a staff writer for the school newspaper. She didn’t seem willing to talk about much else, ever.

“Hey, I didn’t know you were still here,” Dan said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. “Er- ready for the weekend?”

“I have a newspaper deadline,” Claire blurted. “B-but I wanted to ask you something before I go work on it.”

“Try me,” Dan said, taking a few steps towards the door but stopping when he realized she wasn’t going to follow him. The gap between them felt big and awkward, and the room was so quiet and so, so empty.

“D-d-do you have a prom date?” Claire stuttered. “B-because I- I want to go with you. If you don’t.”

Dan blinked a few times, taken aback. He was expecting Claire to ask about the homework, or what he got on the test, or if she could interview him for the bleeding newspaper, not to be her prom date.

“I- can I get back to you on that?” He said, scratching the back of his neck. “I kind of made plans with a friend, but it was more of a fallback thing.”

“I- okay,” Claire nodded, her freckled cheeks warming with a blush. “You have my number, so. Let me know.” With that, she turned on her heel and hurried out of the classroom, leaving Dan a little more than confused.

Going to prom with Phil had been such an easy solution that Dan didn’t really consider what would happen if one of them did get asked, and here he was. On paper, it made more sense to just go with Claire. She was pretty, nice, and maybe it would be fun to see her outside of their chemistry lab. Phil was his best friend. Wasn’t it kind of lame to go with your best friend? But the thought of not going with Phil – and Phil going with someone else – made his stomach hurt. He kept his head down and went back and forth mentally until he reached Phil’s locker.

“Dan-?” Phil said, slamming the metal door shut. “Dan!”

“What?” Dan scowled, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Jesus.”

“You’re talking to yourself again,” Phil snorted, digging his keys out of his pocket. “You had about five people staring at you on your way over here. What’s on your mind?” 

“Claire asked me to prom,” Dan said, wrinkling his nose. “And I… dunno.”

“Oh,” Phil said. “I- that’s a good thing, isn’t it? That’s what you wanted.” 

“That’s what I thought I wanted,” Dan corrected. He and Phil headed for the parking lot, and Dan gripped his backpack straps. “I dunno. Am I lame for wanting to go with you? I know PJ and Hazel and everyone will take the piss, but it just sounds more fun. School dances are lame. Might as well go with someone I like.” He heard Phil cough next to him, and his words registered in his brain. “I- I mean, you’re my best friend. Someone whose company I enjoy. That shit.”

“How poetic of you,” Phil said, and even though Dan knew he was being sarcastic, he couldn’t help but notice the sudden pep in Phil’s step. “Can we please go get this tuxedo shopping over with, now?”

\---

“Phil,” Dan groaned. “You have to pick one.”

He was sat on the fluffy white couch of the department store while Phil spun in the three-way mirror, judging what must have been the nineteenth shirt he’d tried on.

Dan had shopped, tried on, and made his purchase in about a span of thirty minutes – he’d actually come prepared, doing online research for a few weeks before committing to a classic black style with white shoes. 

Phil, however, was a little bit more all over the place.

The real question was why did Dan ever expect anything else?

“I like this one,” Phil announced, and Dan rose to attention, ready to sing praises for whatever Phil had on. Phil could wear a potato sack at this point, and Dan wouldn’t mind. He just wanted to get out of there.

“I like it too-” Dan started, and he did, Phil looked nice, but he was quickly cut off.

“I like it, but it’s not the one,” Phil finished. 

“Phil, it’s a shirt for prom, not your wedding gown.” Dan tried to sound exasperated, but seeing Phil take something like fashion or prom so seriously made him feel a little funny. Lighter, maybe.

“I know it isn’t,” Phil insisted, “but I want to look nice, and this one is too tight. Is that a crime? I’d expect you of all people to understand, considering how big your wardrobe is.”

“Jesus,” Dan laughed, standing and walking over to the rack of go-backs. He pulled a hanger off of the rack and held the shirt up to his chest. “Phil,” he called. “I think this is it.”

Phil whipped his head up from where he was focused on his phone, eyes narrowed at Dan until they crinkled into a laugh. “I hate you,” he said, crossing the little dressing area to feel the silky fabric between his fingers. It was a hot mess of a shirt, apparently some sort of Ed Hardy knockoff between the skulls and roses and flames. Dan flipped it around and showed Phil the back, where BORN TO RIDE was emblazoned in the ugliest font the two of them had ever seen.

“C’mon,” Dan giggled. “If you don’t wear this, I won’t go to prom with you!”

“Better give Claire a call then,” Phil said lightly, heading back to the dressing room, but Dan didn’t miss the smile fighting at the corners of his lips. 

It was quiet for a few minutes before Dan heard a small, “Dan?” from the other side of the fitting room door. Dan paused, and only a moment later, it came louder.

“Dan!”

“What?” Dan leaned against the slotted door. Jokingly, he added, “Did you get stuck?”

Phil was quiet for a slightly horrifying amount of time before Dan heard a muffled, “Yes.”

“Oh my God-” Dan snorted. “Fine, let me in. I’ll help you.”

There was another silence.

“I can’t.”

“What the hell do you mean, you can’t?” Dan tried the handle, but the door was locked.

“My arms are stuck, and my eyes are covered!” Phil cried. “I can’t unlock the door, and even if I could, I can’t see to do it!” 

“You literally owe me so much for this…” Dan groaned, dropping to his knees and army-crawling through the slot underneath the change room door. 

Sure enough, Phil was on the other side with his arms stuck straight above his head, the front of his shirt covering his face. It looked uncomfortable as hell, and Dan immediately burst out laughing.

“You’re such an idiot,” he wheezed, falling back against the wall. “Phil, what in the world possessed you to take a button-up shirt off _over your head_? And one that’s too small, at that!” 

“I was trying to save time!” Phil said. “It’s so much work to button and unbutton each one. I thought I could do it. Now get me out, I feel claustrophobic, and I think my arms have lost all the blood in them.”

“You’re lucky you went shopping with me, and not someone cool you’re trying to impress,” Dan snorted, dropping his bags on the floor and moving over to Phil. “Imagine if fourteen year old Phil had his wishes granted and Noah Greenhill was your prom date. He probably wouldn’t rescue you from a button-up.”

Phil went still for a second, and Dan became hyper-aware of every muscle twitching between them. His fingers nimbly pushed each button through its respective hole, revealing a bit more of Phil’s thin torso with each second. He unbuttoned the top of the shirt where Phil’s face had been trapped, revealing Phil’s soft lips, then the bump in his nose, and lastly, the blue of his eyes. Finally free, Phil lowered his arms.

“Yeah,” Phil said softly. “Good thing it’s you.”

Something in Dan’s chest ached at Phil’s earnestness, and suddenly he felt sixteen again, bumbling and nervous with an overwhelming desire to kiss Phil. He was keenly cognizant of Phil’s steady breathing and the erratic pace of his own; they held eye contact for a second before Dan snapped out of it and stepped back.

“G-go on, try on the next one,” he said, fumbling with the lock on the change room door. “I’ll be outside.”

Dan returned to his seat on the couch and hunched over his phone, burying all thoughts about could-haves and should-haves of the situation that just took place in a game of Tetris. His heart still hadn’t slowed down by the time Phil reappeared in his last option.

“Oh, Phil-” Dan said. “Your mum might kill you, but that one’s… perfect.”

Phil beamed.

It truly was perfect for Phil, not that Dan was biased or anything. It was a black cotton shirt with small foxes printed on it. It probably wasn’t formal enough for prom, and objectively speaking it was a little bit weird, but Phil could pull off things like that. It fit him perfectly, too; it was taking everything Dan had not to stare at the nip of Phil’s small waist.

“Alright,” Phil said. “I’m ready to go.”

\---

“ _Louise-_ ” Dan insisted for what felt like the millionth time. “I have to talk to you about something.”

They were leaned up against the wall of the basement at Dean’s party, watching Matt and Hazel try and take down Phil and PJ in a game of Irish Snap; there was a lot of screaming and drinking and making up of rules that Dan had personally never heard of before, but all four of them looked to be having the time of their lives, and it was making for a good Snapchat story on Dan’s end.

He’d probably be enjoying himself if he didn’t feel like his heart was going to fall out of his butt every time he even glanced at Phil. The whole ride back from the mall, and during dinner, and while they were getting ready for the party, Dan felt like someone had drugged him with too many 5 Hour Energies. He couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened in the changing room, and why had it happened, and did Phil feel it too? It was making his stomach churn in the most unpleasant way, and he felt nervous, something he hadn’t felt around Phil in years.

“Louise-!” Dan leaned over and spoke directly into his friend’s ear, causing her to yelp. 

“Alright, alright! Don’t get your knickers in a knot.” She laughed, adjusting her top and following Dan upstairs to the kitchen; it was quiet and empty there, with all of the party being concentrated in the basement, and Dan breathed a sigh of relief.

“I have to tell you something,” Dan said, fiddling with the lip of his plastic cup.

“Yeah, you made that quite clear when you shouted in my ear, so spit it out,” Louise said, perching on the counter and crossing her ankles. “Has something bad happened?" 

“It’s about Phil-” Dan blurted, and he could feel his face turning red almost instantly. “Something… happened.”

“Oh my God-” Louise’s eyes went impossibly bigger. “Have you two kissed? Oh, wait ‘til I tell Hazel-!”   
  
“No!” Dan cried, slapping a hand over Louise’s glossy lips. “We haven’t, but even if we did, you’re not telling Hazel anything. This is serious. I’m like, having a crisis.”

“Well- what happened, then?” Louise smoothed her hair and looked at Dan seriously so he’d know she was giving him her full attention. “Go on.”

Dan sighed and relayed the events of the afternoon, feeling more and more idiotic the longer he talked. It wasn’t even a big deal; it probably hadn’t even blipped on Phil’s radar. They’d just… looked at each other for a little longer while Phil’s shirt was off. It was stupid to assume it was more than it actually was.

Dan explained this to Louise, but she just rolled her eyes.

“I’ve been sworn to secrecy by a third party,” she said. “So I can’t tell you why I’m going to give you this advice, just know that you really, really should take it.”

Dan blinked at her.

“Don’t turn away from this, Dan,” Louise said. “Good things come your way and you always get anxious and run. Don’t do that. Embrace everything you’re feeling. Don’t overthink it.” She slid off of the counter and turned, digging into the cardboard box someone had left behind and handed Dan another beer. “And for tonight, you should really drink some more.”

The kitchen door swung open, and Phil appeared on the other side. “ _There_ you guys are,” he said. Dan tried not to stare at the beer blush that was crawling up his neck and spreading over his high, pale cheeks. “Come back downstairs. They’re starting a game of Never Have I Ever.”

Louise raised her eyebrows at Dan one final time before slipping out of the kitchen, leaving Dan and Phil on their own.

“What were you and Louise up here for?” Phil said; Dan was so mesmerized by the way his thumb delicately traced the top of his cider bottle that he almost didn’t think to answer him.

“Oh, nothing-” Dan said, snapping out of it. “Prom stuff, whatever. We really just wanted more to drink and it was easier to talk up here.” 

“Right,” Phil said, giving Dan a curious look before backing into the door and holding it open for both of them. 

They carefully teetered down the stairs – Phil having a harder time than Dan – but when they reached the basement door, Phil stopped suddenly. “Dan?”

He had the same soft, earnest tone that he’d had in the dressing room, and Dan felt his heartbeat speed up. “Yeah?” He said, matching the softness in Phil’s voice. “What is it?”

Phil opened his mouth to speak, but his hazy eyes seemed to consider something for a moment. He hesitated before answering, “I’m drunk.”

Dan laughed weakly, taking it upon himself to smooth Phil’s fringe and fix his shirt. “You look fine. Do you need some water?” He couldn’t figure out if he was relieved or disappointed by Phil’s “confession.” Was that really all that Phil had on his mind?

“No, I had some before,” Phil said, and while Dan wasn’t inclined to believe him, he figured that Phil was tall enough to handle a few bottles of cider. “C’mon, we’re missing the game.” Phil wrapped his long fingers around Dan’s wrist and, stumbling, pulled him into the room, where about ten people were sat in a circle. There was a bottle of coconut rum in the middle of the circle, and Sophie was chugging something out of her cup. Dan and Phil wedged their way into the circle, and Hazel immediately handed them two cups of something.

“We’re playing Never Have I Ever,” she announced, eyes glittering. “But we changed the rules because-” she stopped to hiccup, “because it’s more fun this way. You put a finger down if you did something, but if someone catches you lying, you either have to drink or do a dare. ‘Cause we’re all friends and we know everything about each other, so we’ll know when we’re lying. And then you chug your drink if all your fingers go down.” She resumed her position on Jack’s lap and held up her hand. “New round-!” She cried, tipping her nose into her cup. “Never have I ever…” she drew out the last word. “Never have I ever had sex in a moving vehicle.”

The game went on like that for a while; Phil got Dan and the girls with “never have I ever pierced my ears,” and Louise called Sophie out for lying when Dan said, “Never have I ever been caught having sex.”

They were all getting progressively drunker as the rounds went on, and Dan had reached a point where his tongue was saying things before his brain could understand them. His cheeks were numb and he felt warm all over, but everything was funny and he was having a good time and Phil was right there for him to lean on, which felt nice.

Then, things got a little out of hand.

“Never have I ever had a crush on my best friend,” Dean said, and everyone took a moment to express their own reactions of fake-disgust, jealousy, or happiness when PJ and Sophie put down their fingers together and smiled stupidly at each other. Dan was happy that the attention was off of him – it wasn’t like there was a soul amongst their group of friends who hadn’t been made aware about his harrowing, two-year crush on Phil. He didn’t want to be called out for lying, and it looked like he was in the clear.

“Wait-!” Hazel’s voice cut over PJ’s, who was about to start the next round. “You’re lying.”

Dan whipped his head up, expecting to see the accusatory finger and narrowed eyes pointed at him, but Hazel’s gaze was locked on Phil.

“I- I’m not lying,” Phil’s eyes were wide behind his glasses. Dan’s eyes bounced back and forth between him and Hazel, trying to figure out what was going on, but the alcohol was weighing his thoughts down.

“Nope,” Hazel said. Her speech was slurred; she’d clearly had enough a long time ago. “You are. I know for a _fact_ that you are. So you have to do a dare!” 

“Why can’t I just drink?” Phil pled, and Dan opened his mouth to say something. Even as intoxicated as he was, he could feel how uncomfortable Phil was, and that wasn’t fair.

“No. You have to…” Hazel thought hard for a second, pondering. “You have to play Seven Minutes In Heaven. And you have to play with-”

“Isn’t that game a little outdated?” Dan cut in. “What are we, fourteen?”

“Thank you, Dan, for speaking up. I'll take that as a volunteer,” Hazel quipped. “Phil, you get to play Seven Minutes In Heaven with Dan.”

“This is stupid,” Dan slurred, wobbly when he stood up and followed Hazel into the blocked off laundry room. Phil was behind him, mumbling about how Hazel was going to get it when the room stopped spinning, and before they knew it, the door was shutting behind them.

“They’re being ridiculous,” Phil said, running a hand through his hair. Dan perched himself on the washer and tried not to stare. Was Phil trembling? “I wasn’t lying.”

“They are,” Dan nodded, solemn. “And I know you weren’t. You would have told me by now if you had a crush on PJ.”

Phil stopped short, looking up at Dan. “Dan.”

“Yeah?” 

“You know they said _best_ friend, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You know PJ’s not my _best_ friend, don’t you?”

“Well-” Dan had to pause and consider that one. “Who would be, if not him?”

“Uh, you?”

“Oh.”

Things were quiet for a moment before Dan piped up again. “Well, then it probably wouldn’t mean anything if we kissed. People kiss their best friends all the time and hate it.”

“You’re right.”

“So we should do it,” Dan continued. “We should do it, and then we’ll have _proof_ to prove them wrong.”

“You’re so right, Dan,” Phil said. 

“I know. So, I’m gonna do it,” Dan said, sliding off of the washing machine and stepping towards Phil. Louise’s advice from when they’d been in the kitchen was ringing in his head.

Don’t run away. Don’t overthink.

Their chests were barely brushing, and Dan felt like there was electricity sparking wherever they made contact. It felt like everything was in slow motion; Dan could only feel Phil, hear him breathing, smell the gentle detergent on his clothes and the cider on his breath. “I’m gonna do it,” he repeated, quieter.

He leaned in, and suddenly, they were kissing. Phil’s mouth was soft and sweet and tasted as pink as it looked, but Dan pulled back quickly, afraid that he’d imagined what had just happened. He caught Phil with his eyes still closed and mouth still pursed for just a second before his eyes fluttered open and revealed the same soft blue that gave Dan headaches in his younger years. 

Why’d they stop again?

Simultaneously, they reached for each other and kissed again. They paused for a second and tried again, like they were both trying to figure out if this was really happening. Either they figured it out or gave up on trying, but by the third or fourth kiss, they were really going for it. Phil backed Dan up against the dryer and had him held down by his hip; Dan had one hand twisted in the hem of Phil’s shirt and was using the other for leverage on the dryer. It was hard and fast and sloppy, and they clinked teeth a few times, but it felt _good_.

If everything was going in slow motion before, time was moving at the blink of an eye now. All too soon, multiple fists were knocking on the door claiming that their seven minutes were up. Dan felt Phil’s hand leave his hip and his mouth leave his throat.

“See?” Phil breathed. “Y-you were right." 

“Right,” Dan said, though he didn’t believe a word he was saying. “Nothing. It meant nothing.”

The doorknob jiggled from the other side, causing them both to jump. “Sort your hair out,” Dan said, punctuating what had just happened with a smooth of his shirt and shouldering out of the little room.

The party died down severely once they’d returned. Louise was shooting both of them concerned looks, picking up on how distant they were being with each other. Everyone else was drunk and tired and full of alcohol. Thankfully Matt had volunteered to sober up hours earlier and was able to drive everyone home; Dan didn’t think he could handle sleeping next to Phil after what had happened.

He found Phil putting on his shoes while everyone was cleaning up and helped himself to a seat next to him.

“It was a good party,” Dan said, mainly to fill the silence between them. He’d never felt inclined to do that before, but he supposed things could change.

 “Yeah,” Phil shrugged. “I had fun.”

“Mm.”

Things were quiet again; Dan could tell that Phil had to focus very intensely on tying his shoes.

“I think I’m going to take Claire up on her offer,” he blurted. Where had that come from? He hadn’t even been thinking about it before he said it.

“What?” Phil dropped his shoelaces and squinted at Dan. “What offer?”

“For prom,” Dan swallowed. He could feel his face going red. “I- I don’t want people to get the wrong idea. About us. I think going to prom together would add fuel to the fire.”

“I’m not following,” Phil said, and Dan wished Phil would break eye contact with him so he could be relieved of some of the guilt he was feeling. 

“I- I mean, you know, Phil.” Dan said, rubbing the back of his neck. “People think we, like, fuck around or something. I mean, even our own friends think something is going on. You really think Hazel made you play that stupid Heaven game with me because I tried to defend you? They just wanted us to confess some kind of undying love for each other that we obviously don’t have. People- people think we’re something that we’re not. And I don’t want it to… limit you.” 

“Why would that limit me, Dan?” Phil was so calm, and it made Dan’s chest ache. He could feel that Phil was upset, and he wished he’d express it like Dan did, by yelling and screaming and cursing, but that wasn’t Phil. Why was he upset, though? Dan was just saying what they both felt. Phil had confirmed it himself in the laundry room. 

“You deserve someone who makes you happy,” Dan said, gnawing on his lip. “Whether they’re a prom date or a boyfriend or a bloody spouse. You’re not going to get that if people think you’re… involved.”

Things were silent for a moment until Phil turned his whole body toward Dan and took a small breath.

“You talk a lot about other people, Dan. What they think and what they want and what they might say. You even talk about what I want, even though I don’t recall you asking me. I don’t think I have to spell this out for you, but next time you’re in this kind of a situation, you should try asking the other person what they want. Their answer might surprise you, because contrary to what you believe, your assumptions aren’t always right. Have fun at prom, okay? I’m sure Claire will look beautiful.” Phil gave a little nod and stood, despite his shoes still being untied. 

Before Dan could even think of what to say back, Matt and the rest of the group appeared to usher them into the car. Once they were all buckled in, Dan leaned his head against the cool window of Matt’s sedan and tried to calm the churning in his stomach by typing a text.

TO: Claire

FROM: Dan

4:11 AM

hey :) still on 4 prom?

\---

“Dan, it wouldn’t kill you to smile in these photos, would it?” Dan’s mum lowered her camera and raised her eyebrows at Claire as if they shared some private joke about Dan’s current lack of expression.

Well, forgive Dan for not wanting to smile after the week he’d had.

Between Phil not speaking to him and him not speaking to Phil, Hazel apologizing a million times over to the point of absolute insanity about what she’d coerced them into doing at the party, Louise shooting him pity texts, and his complete lack of excitement about prom, Dan was surprised he managed to even get out of bed that morning.

Then, of course, there had been drama with the florist over Claire’s corsage – who the fuck has corsage drama? – and Dan’s mum had cried when he’d come out in his suit, and it was all just a bit much for a dance that wouldn’t even matter by graduation.

He knew it was a shame that he was in such a sour mood, because Claire looked beautiful, and they looked like a proper couple. Dan had swapped ties for a pale pink one that matched Claire’s dress, and her hair was pinned up in these loose curls, and she was wearing makeup for the first time since Dan had known her. The photos would look good on Facebook for their relatives to comment on, and the rest of their group looked great as well. Louise had taken it upon herself to do the girls’ makeup as practice for the beauty school she was bound for in the fall, and she’d actually done a fantastic job. It was weird to see everyone dressed up and beaming. Dan felt a little out of place, honestly.

Phil arrived last to Louise’s, where they were taking pictures, and when he stepped inside with his date, Dan didn’t quite know how he should feel. Noah Greenhill was a few steps behind Phil, and Dan felt like he was fourteen again. He’d sat between Noah and Phil in ninth grade biology and had to watch Phil stumble through conversations with Noah every single day in an attempt to flirt. As Phil’s friend, it had been embarrassing to witness. As Phil’s die-hard admirer, it was just painful. Dan had taken comfort in the fact that Noah didn’t play for Phil’s team until someone had outed him as bisexual. Dan wouldn’t admit to it, but he may or may not have cried himself to sleep for roughly two weeks after that out of sheer potential jealousy. Thankfully, though, nothing had ever happened between them. 

Well, nothing until now.

“Hey, are you okay?” Claire said softly, snapping Dan’s attention away from watching Phil’s mum pose Phil and Noah and snap a million pictures on her iPhone.

“What?” Dan said. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” Noah’s red tie didn’t match the red on Phil’s fox shirt. Dan would have done better.

After everyone’s parents were satisfied with the hundreds of photos taken on every electronic device they owned – seriously, Hazels’ dad insisted on taking photos on his iPad – they all piled in the rented limo and headed out.

For a second, everything was good. They cranked the volume of the music up and rolled the windows down, and Louise dug a bottle of champagne out of the little limo fridge, and Claire was holding his hand. 

Everything was okay, but then he looked over and saw Phil and Noah singing along to the song, and Dan couldn’t help but think about how Noah stuck out of their group like a sore thumb, and that Phil hadn’t liked a blonde since Noah in the ninth grade.

They got to the event hall where prom was being held, and Dan let Claire lead him inside. The dance was quite beautiful; the theme was supposed to be akin to _A Midsummer’s Night Dream_ , and the whole hall had been decorated with candles and fairy lights and flowers. It looked like something out of a movie, and Dan made a mental note to remember who was on the prom committee in case he ever needed an aesthetic makeover. 

Truthfully, it seemed like everything was as expected. The music was bad and the food was cold. Seeing the classmates that you weren’t friends all dressed up with was strange. The prom queen cared more about her crowning than anyone else did. Something still felt off, though. And Dan would be lying if he said he didn’t know what it was.

This night wasn’t supposed to be about good music or great food or hanging out with the guy that sat next to you in maths. It was supposed to be awkward and weird and cheesy, but beyond that, it was supposed to be all of those things with Phil. Phil would make it fun, Phil would make Dan laugh.

But Phil was with Noah, and Dan was with Claire, and the hall suddenly felt too hot and too loud and too much. When the first slow dance of the night came on, Dan couldn’t stand it anymore.

“I- I think I left something in the car,” Dan said in Claire’s ear, hustling towards the back doors before Claire could realize that they didn’t even drive there, nor was the limo in the parking lot anymore, nor was Dan even going in the direction of the parking lot. He just needed some air.

The hall had a back garden, probably for outdoor weddings or fancy brunch parties, but it would have to do as the backdrop for Dan’s current crisis.

He made it about two feet into the garden before running directly into Phil.

Imagine that.

“Oh-!” Phil said, clearly surprised. “Oh,” he said again, “it’s you.”

“Were you expecting someone?” Dan said, and his stomach churned. Leave it to him to interrupt Phil and Noah’s back garden makeout session or something.  
  
“No,” Phil said. “I thought maybe Noah had come looking for me, since- since I’ve been gone for a while, and I told him I was getting a drink, but it doesn’t take that long to get a drink, so. Yeah.”

“Prince Charming isn’t everything you thought he’d be?” Dan chewed on the inside of his cheek, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

“No, it’s not that,” Phil said. “Not that that’s any of your business anyways.”

“Then why are you hiding from him?” Dan pressed. “I know you’re not _that_ interested in foliage to ditch the love of your ninth grade life, Phil.”

“God, you’re thick,” Phil snuffled an exasperated laugh. “Have you always been this dumb?" 

“Probably.” Dan caught himself smiling. “Or maybe it takes a man hiding out from his prom date to recognize another man hiding out from his prom date.”

“You _abandoned_ Claire?” Phil covered his mouth in fake shock. “Not very gentlemanly of you, Dan.”

“I probably did her a favor, honestly,” Dan said. “Can you imagine me trying to dance to ‘Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ by Aerosmith? I’m… disgusted by the thought.”

“I always liked that song,” Phil said, and Dan felt his heart turn over when Phil smiled, the left side of his mouth pulling up higher than the right.

“Phil-” Dan said. “I can’t stand this any longer. I’m sorry, okay?”

“What are you sorry for?” Phil turned his wide eyes on Dan, and Dan squirmed a bit.

“A lot of stuff, I guess,” Dan said. “For assuming that I knew how you felt, and for kissing you without telling you how I felt, and for avoiding you after, but mostly for not being honest with you from the start.” He tugged on a loose thread on his jacket. “I think I’m a little bit in love with you, Phil? And I have been since, uh, since ninth grade? And I thought I was over it because I learned how to be around you without feeling like the weight of the world was pressing down on my chest, but I think that I had just gotten used to the feeling of being in complete awe of you, so when we- when we kissed, it was like a reminder that that weight was there, and I got scared. And I’m sorry for it. But I can’t just go back to being your friend without you knowing, Phil. Everyone else knows. It’s time you did, too.”

Things were quiet for an agonizing handful of seconds before Phil finally spoke. “You idiot,” he grinned. “Do you really need me to say it out loud to know that I like you too?”

“Jesus-” Dan choked out a laugh and immediately reached out to wrap Phil in a hug.

“I can’t believe you thought I had a thing for _PJ_ ,” Phil giggled into Dan’s shoulder. “I’d literally trade the world for you, Dan, and you thought I told Hazel that I had a crush on _PJ._ ”

“Shut up.” Dan pulled back, grinning. He looked at Phil for a few lingering seconds before Louise’s words from the night of the party reappeared in his head.

Don’t run away. Don’t overthink. Just go.

He pressed his lips against Phil’s, and instantly, he liked this kiss much better than their last one. Phil’s mouth tasted like cherry Chapstick and Sprite instead of Redd’s Apple Ale, and the skin on his face was smooth from a fresh shave. He was soft yet firm at the same time, and Dan felt his knees go weak.

Until Phil pulled away.

Dan felt exhausted from the back and forth. What was wrong now? What doubts did Phil have? Why couldn’t they have their Hollywood moment?

“Er, Dan-” Phil said, gently pushing his hands against Dan’s chest. “Not to ruin the _Princess Diaries_ moment or anything, but I’m standing on a stinging nettle right now, and one wrong move is going to cost me my life." 

“You’re such a dork,” Dan snorted, pulling Phil to safety. “Let’s go inside.”

No one would question where they’d been when they returned to the dance. Even Noah and Claire had found comfort in each other’s company, and at least for the night, everything seemed to be exactly where it should.

Dan knew he couldn’t account for what would happen after graduation or even at the end of the summer. University was on the horizon, and it would bring big changes to everyone’s lives. He knew he could count on Phil, though. And no matter what happened tomorrow, next month, or next year, Dan knew that they’d always have tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> yeehaw 
> 
> im thicc-liam on tumblr if u want to chat w me about phan,, pls,,,, i love them..,,


End file.
